Woods & Water, By Dick Herfindahl

There are plenty of reasons to start getting excited about spring; starting with the gradual warming trend that we have going on. In all it hasn’t been a bad winter so far although we must keep in mind that March can and very often does bring plenty of that white stuff.

Occasionally I will reflect back to the winter of ’64-’65 when I was hauling milk for Conger Creamery. We had an abundance of snow that year and to be truthful I don’t think that I have ever shoveled as much snow in the all the years since combined than I did that winter.

The blizzard that we had in March of ’65 was the worst that I can ever remember experiencing. It began, for me, as I was hauling a load of skim milk to Albert Lea. It had started sleeting as I left Conger and as I approached town I thought that I would take South Lincoln, which was gravel, to Freeborn Foods to avoid the busier streets and let’s just say that was not the best plan.

The blizzard started as I made my way back to Conger and as nightfall came we were snowed in. After spending the night sleeping in the creamery there was no let-up in the blizzard so we just had to wait it out. Once the snow and wind subsided we tried to make it to the farmers that we could reach. On one of the east-west roads south of Conger the snow was so deep that only the tips of the telephone and power poles were visible.

In a day or two another blizzard hit and this time I was stranded at home. Nothing was moving as far as vehicles and by the second evening we needed milk, bread and my dad needed tobacco (Prince Albert in the can) so he decided to walk to the Northside Confectionary. I didn’t want him to go alone so I insisted that I go with him. The hill on the northeast corner of the Fairgrounds was practically non-existent because of all of the snow; the tops of the power lines were barely sticking out of the drifts. The snow was so hard and packed that we walked on top of it without sinking through.

It was a couple of days before Highway 16 was open and as we drove west there were times when the drifts were higher than the car while along the way there was a snowplows and a road grader still buried in the snow along the side of the road. Once we made it to Conger we started picking up milk at the farms that we could access. It was almost a week before everyone was dug out and many of the farmers lost money because they had limited storage capacity so the milk had to be poured down the drain.

As a young man just turning 19 I considered this experience an adventure rather than the tremendous amount of work that it actually was. I guess that you could say that this is just another example of “the good old days” that we sometimes long for.

A simple choice at tax time can warm spirit and help wildlife

Need something to lift the spirits in the midst of this winter’s recurring cold and snow? Looking for a way to make a big difference with a small investment?

Filing state income taxes might not be the first thing that comes to mind as an antidote for the winter blahs, unless one realizes that it offers the chance to help more than 800 species of nongame wildlife, some of them threatened or endangered. Line 21 of the Minnesota income tax form — marked by a loon — provides individuals with an opportunity to invest in the future of nongame wildlife.

When taxpayers designate an amount they would like to donate to the Nongame Wildlife Program, their tax-deductible donations are matched one-to-one by state conservation license plate funds. The Nongame Wildlife Program receives no money from the state’s general fund for its efforts to support a wide range of animals that aren’t hunted — from eagles and loons to turtles and butterflies. It receives no funding from hunting and fishing license fees, lottery proceeds or sales taxes. It relies almost entirely on voluntary donations to support its work.

That work includes research to understand how creatures fit within functioning ecosystems, managing habitat, and assisting with recovery efforts for rare species. Over the program’s 41-year history, it has played an important role in the recovery of bald eagles, trumpeter swans, eastern bluebirds, peregrine falcons, and many more species. It also provides nature education, including such highly popular features as the DNR EagleCam now in its sixth year of streaming live video from a Twin Cities bald eagle nest.

For more information on the DNR Nongame Wildlife Program, its success stories and ways to volunteer and donate, visit the nongame wildlife page.

Until next time; spend some time in the outdoors sharing an adventure with a youth whether it be your child, grandchild or a friend’s child; it’s what memories are made of.

Please take some time to honor those who have sacrificed so much for the freedoms we enjoy today. Also, take some time to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice, those who served and those troops serving today.